India, New Zealand ink education agreement

Published: Tuesday, April 13, 2010, 15:05 [IST]

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Wellington, Apr 13 (ANI): India and New Zealand have concluded a formal education agreement, which includes collaborative projects, open and distance learning, research cooperation, teacher education and development and quality assurance.

Both countries have also agreed to encourage the exchange of officials and personnel.

The agreement was signed by Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal and his counterpart Education Minister Anne Tolley.

Tolley said India, with a population of 1.1 billion, was a key education market for New Zealand.

"A formal agreement such as this is a significant achievement for New Zealand considering the relative size and scale of our two nations and is testament to our high quality education system," Stuff.co.nz quoted Tolley, as saying.

Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce said education was New Zealand's fifth largest export earner and was vital to the growth of the economy and the tertiary sector.

"It's essential we maximise our opportunities in this area and that we are able to compete with other countries for international students," he said. (ANI)